Monterey County agencies weigh ruling on identifying police in shootings

SALINAS &GT;&GT; Monterey County law enforcement agencies are awaiting word from government attorneys about how to respond to a California Supreme Court ruling Thursday that the names of officers involved in police shootings must be divulged in most cases.

Salinas Police Chief Kelly McMillin said he is awaiting a comprehensive analysis from city attorney Chris Callahan, which is expected Friday or Monday.

The ruling came days after two separate and controversial officer-involved shootings of men armed with farm tools in the city's Alisal district led to demonstrations and unrest.

Salinas has had three fatal officer-involved shootings this year.

McMillin said an initial conversation with Callahan led him to understand the ruling doesn't diverge wildly from existing law.

"What it does is prevents law enforcement from using a generalized, blanket fear of retaliation as a reason to not divulge the name of police officers," he said.

McMillin said the department has "always" had a policy allowing the release of officers' names "if they consent to it or on request of a Public Records Act request," a statement that raised a few eyebrows among a group of reporters interviewing McMillin late Thursday.

The high court ruling stemmed from public records requests by the Los Angeles Times regarding a fatal police shooting in Long Beach.

"The public's significant interest in the conduct of its peace officers 'diminishes and counterbalances' an officer's privacy interest in keeping his or her name confidential," the justices wrote in their 6-1 published decision. "In a case such as this one, which concerns officer-involved shootings, the public's interest in the conduct of its peace officers is particularly great because such shootings often lead to severe injury or death."

Monterey County Sheriff's Cmdr. John Thornburg said his office was awaiting guidance from county counsel.

That department has had one on-duty shooting this year, on March 20, when deputies fired on fugitive Hector Chairez in Big Sur. Deputies said they believed Chairez aimed a gun at them, but no weapon has been uncovered at the crime scene.

The same day, Angel Francisco Ruiz, 42, was shot and killed by three officers after residents reported he was waving what turned out to be a replica handgun in a parking lot on Constitution Boulevard in Salinas. Police said video showed Ruiz had earlier held a gun to the heads of restaurant patrons and was a suspect in a hit-and-run attack that injured a California Highway Patrol officer.

On May 9, Salinas police fatally shot lettuce worker Osman Hernandez outside an East Alisal Street market, and on May 20, Carlos Mejia was shot and killed by officers near a bakery on Del Monte Avenue.